


We Meet Again

by TheGoldenC



Category: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Genre: Carnivals, Crushes, Disguise, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Fun, Hiding, Hugging, Kissing, Love Confessions, Running, Secret Relationship, Teenagers, Walking Home, teenage romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28537311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGoldenC/pseuds/TheGoldenC
Summary: The town carnival has arrived, and Martha wasn’t expecting to see him there as well.
Relationships: The Grinch/Martha May Whovier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	We Meet Again

**Author's Note:**

> This is like a follow up to my teenage AU.  
> I love carnivals and I just couldn’t resist writing them together at one.

It’s been a month since he came over.

Martha looked over herself in her vanity mirror near her bed. Wearing her favorite green blouse tucked into her white mini skirt. Her blonde hair done up in a ponytail again, tied back with a green scrunchie.

Green has always been one of her favorite colors, but after that night the Grinch came over, she’s been wearing more green than before. She never left the house without something green accompanying her wardrobe. 

Martha blushes. Her relationship with the Grinch has been.... _complicated_ to say the least. She _thinks_ they’re dating. I mean, she hopes they are. Her mouth still tingled at the feel of their kiss; his lips against hers, the feel of his soft, green fur brushing up against her skin. She hasn’t stopped dreaming of that night ever since.

They’ve seen each other at school and Martha doesn’t know if it made things more awkward for them or better. They smile at each other more and try to converse as much as they can without being seen, not wanting to encourage the rumors that are **still** running around. 

She frowns a bit at that. Having to hide their relationship was not easy nor enjoyable for either of them. Martha wants to be with the Grinch more than anything, but how? She was a Who...and he’s a _What!_ That was practically unheard of. Not only would that stir up more trouble at school, but with her parents as well. 

She shook her head. Martha didn’t even want to think of what her parents’ reaction to that news would be like. She just knows it won’t be pretty. So she thought she’d focus on something else...like the carnival!

Whoville Carnival was an event no Who wanted to miss, young or old. A week filled with fun, rides, food, games, and prizes. Her friends decided they would go together, it’s been the talk of the school ever since it came to town. Everyone was going to be there. 

Well.... _almost_ everyone. 

She hoped he would show. He didn’t seem like a ‘carnival’ type of guy, but hopefully that won’t hinder his appearance. 

Martha leaves, saying farewell to her parents after their reminder to her about her curfew. The carnival was in town square, the largest part in Whoville. She enters, paying for her ticket and meets up with some of her friends. 

“Nice outfit, Martha,” Tammy Whoburner commented. A tall, slender, brunette that claimed to be Martha’s companion, yet seemed to have a problem with keeping her mouth shut. “Maybe your _boyfriend_ will like it too.”

The group of teens snicker.

Martha rolls her eyes at that smart comment. Tammy was one of those few people you just had to ignore at times. “He is _not_ my boyfriend,” She tells them instead of the truth. _It’s none of their business anyways._ “And besides, he’s probably not even here. So let’s just go, shall we?” 

* * *

Oh he’s here alright. And he sees her.

 _And she looks absolutely_ **_beautiful!_**

The Grinch hides behind one of the rides. He’s wearing a disguise: a black cloak with a cheap Who-ish looking mask to keep his face hidden. 

Everyone’s distracted so no one could notice him. But he notices _her._ He felt his heart beat against his chest and his cheeks begin to burn. He hates carnivals, or festivals, or anything that associated with Whos or social events. But he heard that Martha was going to be here and well....

He eyes her from afar. She’s wearing green, what Grinch thinks is symbolic to him, and that white skirt that would be a bit questionable for the school dress code. But they’re not at school, which means that code doesn’t apply to this situation.... _much to his happiness._

Grinch curses himself for not having the courage to go and approach her, but she’s surrounded by other Whos that he _knows_ will criticize him if he even dared. 

She walks near, and his chance is slipping right from under him. It’s now or never. 

“Martha,” He mumbles, but she doesn’t hear. It’s too noisy and she’s distracted with her friends, but nevertheless he tries again, this time louder. 

“Martha!”

The young Who hears her name being called from behind one of the rides, and she thinks she’s going insane, (that’s enough cotton candy for one night), but then she hears it again. Now she’s intrigued. 

She follows from where the mysterious voice is coming from, telling her friends to go on without her. With all these people out here, it’s near impossible to find out who it is. And she could’ve sworn she just saw some goofy-looking Who hidden in some cloak. 

The Grinch’s eyes widen as she approaches and his heart nearly goes into his throat. Once she’s within arms reach, he grabs her and pulls her aside. 

Martha squeaks and her instincts take over. She slaps the mysterious man across the face for having the audacity to grab her like that. 

“Owie! What the heck was **that** for?!” 

And her eyes grow wide. That voice, that _gruffly_ voice! She knows that voice from anywhere and pulls the mask off to reveal a bunch of green fur underneath. 

“Grinch?!”

”Who else would it be?!” He says a bit too harshly.

“Well I don’t know, _you’re_ the one wearing the disguise!” 

“Yeah, so I can hide!”   
  
Martha shakes her head, changing the subject now that her shock is over. “What are you doing here?” 

He rubs his cheek, a red hand mark was left from where she had slapped him. He looks at her. “I heard about it at school, and someone mentioned that you were gonna be here...so, I decided to come.”

Her heart melted at that. _He had wanted to see her!  
_

She blushes, suddenly feeling guilty for hitting him. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize it was you.” Her voice now quiet. 

Grinch smirks, his sarcastic nature taking over once again. “Hence the purpose of a disguise.”

Martha giggled, relieved that he wasn’t mad at her. And she stares at him. That black cloak somehow made him look more attractive.... _in her standards._ Then again, she found **everything** about him to be attractive. 

_And the Grinch felt the same way about her._

She runs up to him and embraces him in a hug. Her head buried in his chest of green hair. 

“I missed you.”

He freezes momentarily, feeling his body grow warm at the contact. Her scent fills his nostrils and it intoxicates him, making him smile.

”I missed you too,” Martha smiled harder as she felt his arms wrap around her, embracing her back. He was warm, and fuzzy. Just the way she liked it. And it felt good against the chill of the night air. But her smile falters at a certain thought. 

“I hate having to hide this between us. I want to be with you.” 

Grinch’s brows furrow at that thought as well. He knows how she feels, and he can’t blame her either. Being forced to hide their relationship because of their differences. It wasn’t fair. 

He rubs her back, deciding to lighten the tension in the mood. “You’re here with me now, aren’t you?” 

“....Yes.” 

“Then there’s nothing to fret about.” And he kisses the top of her head. Her smile widened. She could hear the beat of his heart through his cloak, it was therapeutic to her. 

The commotion of the carnival fills the atmosphere as the two teens continued to cuddle each other. Both loving the feel of their bodies up against one another. 

“Oh, I almost forgot,” He let’s go of her and reaches behind his back, pulling out a stuffed teddy bear he had won from the ring toss game earlier. “This is for you.”

Martha gasped at the sight of the adorable plushy. A cute, traditional, brown teddy bear that would make a great addition to her bedroom.

She smiles at him. Her boyfriend could be so compassionate at times. “I love it! It’s so adorable!”

 _”You’re adorable.”_ Grinch says mentally to himself. Watching the way her eyes sparkle like the stars in the night sky. 

The next thing he knew, her lips were on his and the memory of that night replays in his mind again, but it’s brief. She pulls away, her fingers running through his sideburns.   
  
She whispers, “I love you.”

He is slightly taken aback by that. No one has told him they ‘loved’ him before. That typically wasn’t a word associated with the name ’Grinch’. What has she done to him?! She turned him into this sappy, green guy with _feelings!_ But part of him loved it, and **all** of him loved her. 

His hand grips her chin in his palm and gently pulls her into him, their lips reuniting once again. Her fingers make their way up to his head, playing with his messy hair. 

Grinch holds her tight against him. One hand around her waist while the other rested on her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. Martha giggles against his mouth once she felt him tickle her side, and the sound of her laughter only made him kiss her harder. 

Eventually, they needed air at some point. They break apart, both panting yet happy as ever. And Grinch sees that same fire burning in her eyes that makes him want to devour her even more. But she tugs on his arm, breaking the spell. 

“It’s getting late, and I have curfew,” She tells him, and he reluctantly releases her from his embrace. She can tell judging by the look on his face that he wasn’t happy about that, and neither is she, but it is what it is. 

Martha offers her arm to him. “Walk me home?” And a grin replaces the frown that was more like his old self.

”Alright.”

* * *

They make their way up to her steps, standing in front of the door on her porch. 

Martha faces him. Her teddy bear clutched in her arms that she thinks about naming ‘Grinchy’ later. She bites her lip, all of a sudden shy. 

Grinch rubs the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. Not really sure what to do at this point. “So, um, I guess I’ll see you later?”

She nods, confused on what to do as well. “Yeah,”

Silence stretches and he goes to turn away, but something catches his attention. That something being her lips, he wants to feel them one last time before he leaves. Something to keep him warm throughout the night.   
  
He stares, making his way back towards her almost in a trance. Martha looks up. His gaze captivating her as well and she moves forward into his touch.

”You never gave me my goodnight kiss,” 

He chuckles, taking her in his arms again. Their lips only a hairbreadth apart. 

_“Martha, darling, is that you?”_

_**No!** _

They immediately jump apart at the sound of her mother’s voice from behind the door. _They were **so** close this time!   
_

“Quickly, hide!” She urges him. 

He panics and jumps over the railing to their porch. Landing right in their bushes.... _a rose bush that is.  
_

Martha‘s eyes widened as she tried to stop him, but it was too late. “No, not in the rose...”

**“OW-WEEEEEE!”**

“....bush.”

The door opens and she whips around to greet her mother standing there in her night robe. She can tell she was already sleeping due to the sound of her voice. “There you are, hun! How was the carnival?”

”It was wonderful, Mother, but I’ll tell you and Father about it tomorrow, I’m a bit tired now.” 

Her mother nodded, giving her a kiss on her head as she walked back into the house. Telling her to lock the door once she enters. 

Martha stayed behind though, and once her mother was out of view she quickly ran to the side of their steps to the bushes. 

“Are you alright?” 

“ _What do_ you _think?_ ”

Cautiously she steps up to the bush and extends her arm, carefully pulling him out. He was covered in thorns from head to toe. 

Martha giggles at his predicament. “I _told_ you not to jump into the rose bush.”

”Yeah, **after** I jumped into it!” 

“Shhhh!” She laughs, and helps pull a few of his thorns out. The Grinch winced on every one. He’s got thorns in places he didn’t know he could get thorns! 

She eventually had to go inside. And after a quick, chaste kiss goodnight, she left. 

He was left with thorns up his crack and a _long_ walk back to his old Biddies’ home. But if you ask him, he’d say it was all worth it. 

“Goodnight, Martha.”

**Author's Note:**

> I.....need to go to sleep XD. I love writing these fics once they’re finished, but the process can be a pain -_-


End file.
